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Did you know that the English word 'amok' comes from the Malay/Indonesian work 'amuk'?
Or how about 'Bogeyman', which originated from the 'Bugis' tribe from Sulawesi?
These are just two of the many wonderful words which come from the Indonesian language, and I am sure you will find that there are many words which sound fantastic, and you will want to introduce into your vocabulary.
The Indonesian language is easy to learn - there are no tenses, you form a plural by repeating a word, and there are so few words that one word can mean many things. Here are the 45 most important words I have learnt - in total, I know about 100 and that includes numbers. In a couple of weeks, I should be fluent in the language (not really...)!
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......................10
useful words for shopping......................
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Berapa
ini?
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How much is this one? | |
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Sama-sama
ini?
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The same as this one? | ||
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Habis
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It's finished | ||
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Mahal!
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Expensive! | ||
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Meruh
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Cheap | ||
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Satu
lagi
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One more | ||
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Tidak
ada, missus
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There aren't any | ||
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.......................10
useful words for driving.......................
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Kiri
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Left | |
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Kanan
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Right |
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Terus
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Straight on | ||
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Cepat-cepat
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GO FASTER!!!! | ||
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Pelan-pelan
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SLOW DOWN!! | ||
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Hati-hati
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Watch out!! | ||
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Mobil
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Car | ||
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Benzin
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Petrol | ||
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Pulang
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Home | ||
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Jalan
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to go/road/journey | ||
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.............15
useful words for Greetings/goodbyes.............
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Selamat
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Good... |
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...Datang
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Welcome! | ||
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...Pagi
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...morning | ||
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...Siang
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...day (around lunchtime) | ||
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...Sore
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...afternoon | ||
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...Malam
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...evening | ||
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Terima
kasih
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thank
you
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Kembali
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You're
welcome/return
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Apa
kapar?
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How are you? | ||
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Sumpai
jumpa!
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See you later! | ||
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Baik-baik
or Baik sekali
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Very well | ||
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.................10
other words you may hear..................
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Suda
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Already
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Mungkin
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Maybe | ||
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Anak-anak
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Children
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Suami
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Husband
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Isteri
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Wife
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Bagus
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Beautiful/nice/good
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= | No | ||
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Belum
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No,
not yet
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Ya
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No
or yes. Difficult to tell.
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Tidak
masala
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No
problem
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